From vistas of golden aspens under snowcapped mountains to scenes of slithering rivers on the plains lined by cottonwoods, Colorado is full of fall photo opportunities. September and October are the peak months to go leaf-peeping. Here are eight great spots spanning the state to capture autumn with a camera.

Swetsville Zoo may not host the live specimens you would expect, but it still plays preserve to a formidable menagerie of metallic creatures. Meet the inhabitants of this one-of-a-kind sculpture garden in our exclusive 'web extra' slideshow.

Want to see more spectacular shots from our Denver Skyscraper feature? Check out these dizzying web extras!

Our July/August 2015 issue navigates a course from the back roads of the high San Juan Mountains to the top of Denver’s tallest skyscrapers, with many scenic stops along the way.

Colorado's gold rush brought humanity and hardship to these rocky mountains. Mining towns popped up by the dozen, but just as quickly found themselves abandoned as the politics of man and nature shifted. The 11 ghost towns on our list might be haunted by the past, but it isn't hard to find the beauty in these booms gone bust.

Want to know where the wildflowers grow? Every summer, Colorado's mountainsides explode in a Technicolor flora supernova.

With a the help of a very special telescope, the Little Thompson Observatory is bringing space home to Berthoud.

Pagosa Springs doesn’t end at the city limits. The people who live here feel an intimate connection to the river, the forests, the mountains and the ski slopes just up the road at Wolf Creek Pass.

Legend and reality meet in Ridgway, where the True Grit Cafe serves up home-cooked western fare to John Wayne afficionados and genuine cowboys alike.

Vail's Little Diner may be small, but the dishes whipped up by owner and chef Brain Little are anything but. Offering slope-side service and hearty portions of home-cooked delights, this diminutive diner has quickly earned a big reputation.

Bald eagles and bison within view of the Denver skyline? From wasteland to wonderland, Rocky Mountain Arsenal's once-toxic military dumping grounds is now home to its own veritable army of native species.

The rock walls of Canyon Pintado have served as a massive canvas for thousands of years, preserving the history of the land and it's people against both natural and human destruction.